Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Needham & Company LLC

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Needham & Company LLC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $42.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on RCKT. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.46.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,076,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,184. The company has a market capitalization of $279.99 million, a P/E ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 1.02. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $2.19 and a 12-month high of $26.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 6.05.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.58) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.66) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Aaron Ondrey sold 7,489 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $39,616.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $685,848.50. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gaurav Shah purchased 20,000 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.08 per share, with a total value of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 792,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,026,814.40. This trade represents a 2.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,995,177 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $175,919,000 after buying an additional 2,753,033 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,267,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,004,039 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $50,343,000 after buying an additional 2,106,699 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 3,163.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,569,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,733,000 after buying an additional 1,521,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,428,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.